Cunningham St. fire empties apartments
Multiple fire departments responded to a structure fire Monday night at 119 E. Cunningham St. in Butler.
Butler 911 dispatchers issued the call at 8:14 p.m. for the fire in a three-story building with apartments on the second and third levels and two street-level businesses.
Butler Joint Fire Chief Chris Switala said everyone evacuated the building safely.
Heath Nagle, a resident in the second-floor apartment, said he called 911 after hearing crackling sounds and seeing something strange out the window.
“(The alley) was orange,” he said of the sight that tipped him off that there was a fire.
Nagle grabbed his young daughter, who had just been put to bed, and exited the apartment, alerting his upstairs neighbor on the way down the steps. He said bystanders went up a second time to make sure the third-floor occupant, one adult, exited safely.Cheri Stoner, owner of the building and the Snipz Hair Design there, said she was at Bible study when she received word of the fire.“I thank God, literally, that no one was hurt,” Stoner said.The last firefighter cleared the scene at 10:50 p.m., but not until after extensive work extinguishing the blaze which had entered the void space in the roof, according to Switala.When fire crews arrived, Switala said, they found the exterior of the building aflame.“There were flames (near the second-story staircase,) and they extended up the exterior of the building,” he said.He said the fire on the exterior was knocked down within minutes of the first crews arriving, but the fire managed to spread to the void space in the area of the roof and rafters.“It got into that void space and spread throughout and into the peak of the roof,” Switala said.Switala said firefighters had to pull down ceiling material from the inside, and they accessed different portions of the roof by using their ladder truck, cutting into the roof to stop the fire from spreading.He did not yet have an estimate on damages, but he noted the majority of fire damage was to the exterior and void space.“There's very little fire damage inside, but there is water damage,” he said.Switala said when the fire was under control, firefighters began taking tarps into the building to cover anything they could.All residents were displaced Monday night with no estimate as to when they can return, but Switala said the building could be repaired.“They could probably occupy the first floor quicker, if they can get a restoration company in there,” Switala said.Stoner was able to survey some of the damage Monday night.“My ceiling was on the floor,” she said.Stoner said at Bible study, the theme eerily applied to the situation.“The whole thing was about how your character shows through crisis,” she said.Stoner said she had already lost between $25,000 and $30,000 throughout the COVID-19 pandemic from her business. She said she has insurance on the building.Stoner said she was thankful to the firefighters who worked to save the building and to Nagle for calling 911.Butler city, Butler Township, East Butler, Chicora, Penn Township and Herman fire departments responded to the call. Butler Ambulance was also on standby.
